Abstract : Research performed on Early Neolithic ceramic assemblages from southwestern Bulgaria has revealed that several categories of pottery were used for the preparation of foodstuffs. One particular type of beige residue has been identified on the inner surface of ceramic vessels from several sites. Chemical analyses of mineral residues, combined with the stylistic characteristics of ceramic vessels, have shown the consumption of bone powder. This consumption , far from being anecdotal, raises several questions regarding the diet behaviour of the earliest Neolithic communities in the Balkans, which have obviously sought a complementary source of calcium. Would the dietary transition at the beginning of the Neolithic period correspond to a diet stress?